it's up to you to be you.

I had lunch with a well-respected attorney in town a couple weeks ago, and this attorney is a full time attorney, father of three, and has been playing fiddle for the same renowned bluegrass band for twenty years. In fact, I just saw him at the Opry Friday night. So see? You can do everything you love. Clearly, I’m not the first person to wear several hats and do everything I love and love everything I do; but, it seems people tend to get confused as to what I do because they can’t define me in one word or put me under one category. The confusion seems to start with, how law and music are related, and then more confusion is added on top of that because I have my Beachbody business. I assure you though, there’s nothing to be confused about. First of all, law and music are so integrated that I’m confused as to what the confusion is. Second of all, “Love, Justine” ties everything up together with a lacey, confectionary ribbon. Thirdly, and most importantly, whoever said you can’t do everything you want to do? I hopped on the crazy train a LONG time ago, when my parents chauffeured me around from gymnastics, to piano lessons, to Girl Scout meetings, to dance classes, to acting classes, to singing lessons, to rehearsals, to tutoring sessions, to school events, to Lord knows what else. These days I ride and drive the train, and I think I’ve finally learned how to do everything without ever burning out too badly, or let any one endeavor fall into shambles. At the risk of sounding like a broken record and a cheeseball, there are three key factors to all the crazy keeping its wheels on the tracks and not derailing every so often: 1) time management, 2) maintaining health and fitness, and 3) smile…everyday, just smile. 1) Time Management: I used to just do everything without really thinking about it. I mean, the extent of my time management generally consisted of knowing where I needed to be at what time, and being there at that time (or usually at least a few minutes early). It was only when I became a Beachbody coach that I really had to learn how to manage my time in the most efficient way I could, because juggling law school, coaching, working, and personal time is a lot to juggle. BUT, it’s not that hard. All you need is a planner (I’ve never been so good at using a planner until now), alarms on your phone, a good sense of your priorities and when a particular priority needs to take precedence above others, plus a splash of quality family/friends/you time. 2) Maintaining Health and Fitness: This is SO IMPORTANT, because if you’ve got a full plate, you need more than anyone else the energy and ability to do everything you want to do. Sick days are just a nuisance to deal with, so don’t let yourself get sick! Of course, sometimes you can’t help it—especially if you’re around kids a lot—but by maintaining good health and fitness will keep your body and your immune system strong so that you’re not as prone to being ill. Trust me, I was ill once this past academic year, and I got over it very quickly without much pain at all. Just make sure if/when you do get sick, REST! Do only what you have to do, and don’t do any rigorous physical activities. If you keep wearing out your body, then it’s not going to recover. 3) SMILE: The act of smiling reduces stress and raises your positive energy. And smiling is contagious, so do yourself and everyone else a favor and spread the wealth! Plus, not everything in life is fair, but you always have a reason to be grateful, so smile and be grateful. How you feel makes a huge difference in how you do things. So don’t fret, you can do everything you want to do so long as you work hard, work SMARTER, and play harder-er :). BIG LOVE & BIG HUGS Love, Justine